Aston Villa defender Jores Okore faces up to nine months on the sidelines with a knee ligament injury.

The centre-back was substituted after 30 minutes during Saturday's Premier League defeat to Newcastle, following an apparently innocuous collision with Loic Remy.

A club statement read: "Following clinical examination and the results of an MRI scan, the club can confirm that Jores Okore sustained a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament injury in his right knee in the game against Newcastle on Saturday.

"Jores will undergo surgery in due course and he could be sidelined for a period of up to nine months."

Okore, 21, joined the Birmingham side from Nordsjælland for a fee of around £4million this summer after catching the eye during the Danish side's Champions League campaign.